Today, British Columbians will decide who will guide our province through a severe economic downturn into our year on the world stage as host province of the 2010 Winter Olympics. Here, each of the leading candidates makes a direct appeal to voters on why they would be the best choice at a crucial time.
Gordon Campbell
B.C. Liberal leader
“Who is best able to lead our province through these difficult economic times?” That’s the question British Columbians will answer when they vote today. This is the most critical election in a generation. Thousands of jobs are at stake.
British Columbia needs a government that has a plan to strengthen our economy, create jobs and ensure B.C. families and communities stay strong.
Ask yourself why not a single major employer has come out in support of Carole James and the NDP. Small business, forestry, mining, energy, retailers and tourism don’t support the high tax, high deficit plan of Carole James. They know an NDP government would be bad for jobs, for their businesses and their employees.
Independent experts have said the NDP plan would cost well over 100,000 jobs. This is no time for risky experiments or on-the-job training. Carole James and most of the NDP candidates don’t have business experience. It’s a time for proven leadership and people who know what it’s like to run a business and meet a payroll.
The B.C. Liberals have a plan to keep B.C. strong that protects jobs and builds for the future. We’re going to build on our record of lowering taxes, putting more money back in your pocket, and making our province more competitive to attract the investment that creates jobs.
The stakes in this election are high. Today when you vote, please think about your job, and the opportunities you’d like for your family moving forward. Vote for a B.C. Liberal government.
Carole James
B.C. NDP leader
As this campaign comes to an end people from across our province are coming together to build a better future for themselves, their families and their communities.
In Burnaby, a woman whose father is losing his long-term-care bed told me she’s voting NDP to change that. In Kamloops, Rafe Mair told me he’s voting NDP to stop the sale of our rivers. In MacKenzie, forest workers told me they are voting NDP to save their jobs and communities.
And in Surrey a mom on Mother’s Day told me she’s voting NDP to improve conditions in her daughter’s classroom.
In community after community, working families, small-business people, seniors and young people are saying eight years of Gordon Campbell is enough. They are saying after eight years it’s time to put everyday families first in line. Together, we can ensure that no one is left behind. We can make decisions based on fairness and respect for all, because everyone matters. For eight years, government friends and insiders have been more important to the Campbell government than you are. Eight years of that is enough. My pledge is to change the way Victoria works. My pledge is to put you first — to make sure working families are treated fairly, that seniors get better care and that young people get a shot at an affordable education and better opportunities. Together, we can do it. I invite you to stand with me to take back your B.C.
Jane Sterk
Green Party of B.C. Leader
British
Columbians deserve a government that works in their interests, not the
interests of their party or, worse yet, the interests of the special
interest groups that fund them and expect favours in return.
As
leader of the Green Party, I take seriously the responsibility to work
in the best interest of all British Columbians and to exercise
accountability to future generations so our grandchildren’s
grandchildren also have the opportunity to live a good life.
As
well, I acknowledge that we share the physical space we call B.C. with
other species whose survival is compromised by every action we and the
government on our behalf takes.
The Green Party has a better
plan for B.C., one that would apply new thinking to the serious
problems we face: Climate change and environmental degradation;
poverty, homelessness and community decay; economic underpinnings that
leave many at risk and that offer little protection from boom and bust
cycles because they are built on the erroneous assumption that we can
consume everything all at once and still have future prosperity.
Unlike
the leaders of the NDP and the Liberals, I have experience in both
business and the public sector and respect the contributions both must
make to finding solutions to problems. Yet, I and the Green Party are
beholden to neither. I am the only leader who is after influence not
power.
I believe partisan politics must end. A vote for the Green Party is neither left nor right but forward to a better future
